Darren Adam Heitner, Esq. is the Founder of HEITNER LEGAL, Founder/CEO of Dynasty Dealings, LLC, Professor of Sport Agency Management at Indiana University Bloomington, Co-Founder of Collegiate Sports Advisors (CSA) and Founder/Chief Editor of Sports Agent Blog, a leading niche industry publication. He is an attorney licensed to practice on the state and federal level, and focuses on sports, entertainment, and intellectual property litigation and transactional work.
Darren is the author of How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know (published by the American Bar Association), Contributing Writer of An Athlete’s Guide to Agents, 5th Edition, and has authored many sports, entertainment and intellectual property-related Law Journal articles.
Darren has a Bachelors of Arts from the University of Florida and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from the same institution.

Does David Stern's $250,000 Fine Against The Spurs Jeopardize The Integrity Of The NBA?

David Stern, commissioner of the National Basketball Association, is under fire for fining the San Antonio Spurs $250,000 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As Commissioner of the NBA, David Stern has very broad powers. However, with such power comes great responsibility, and he must exercise same based on rationale and logic and after doing his absolute best to set emotions aside.

Last night, the San Antonio Spurs decided to dress only 9 players against the defending NBA champions, the Miami Heat. Four of the top players on the Spurs roster (Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green) failed to even make the trip with their team to Miami, and opted instead to fly to San Antonio for some early season rest. Head coach Gregg Popovich’s decision to rest his stars quickly came under fire, and Commissioner Stern responded (perhaps with emotion) by threatening “substantial sanctions” against the team.

Almost twenty-four hours later, David Stern fined the San Antonio Spurs a total of $250,000 for the team’s actions.

Commissioner Stern may attempt to justify his decision based on his power to take action that protects “the best interests of the Association or the game of basketball.” But Stern’s decision takes that phrase a step further. It as if the game of basketball desperately needs Stern to step in as savior and serve as a deterrent against future mass benching by a head coach. The real question that must be asked, though, is whether Stern’s fine does more to jeopardize the integrity of the NBA than Gregg Popovich’s decision to rest his starting lineup.

This is not the first time Stern has fined a team for not dressing a player. Stern fined the Los Angeles Lakers in 1990 after coach Pat Riley rested Magic Johnson and James Worthy in a regular season finale against Portland. That fine was for a substantial $25,000. Today’s fine of the San Antonio spurs is ten times that amount.

David Stern’s decision to impose harsh sanctions against the Spurs organization may very well may open up a Pandora’s box of trouble for Stern and the NBA. Three of the four players who did not make the trip to Miami are in their 30’s. In a physically demanding league, these elder players have a difficult time playing four games in such a short span. Is David Stern better fit than Gregg Popovich to make the determination that Tim Duncan at 36-years-old is “healthy” enough to play four games in five nights? More importantly, as Commissioner of the league, is it a rightful execution of power to fine an organization six-figures because a coach decides to take action that does not overtly violate a league rule?

There is no doubt that fans are disappointed when stars are not playing for health or age reasons (call them “basketball reasons”); however, fining an organization for resting players is not really catering to the fans. It is more of a reaction to a fear that sponsors and TV rights holders will get upset if a trend is created whereby coaches adopt Gregg Popovich’s thinking and suddenly rest their stars hours prior to game time. Yet, the NBA’s integrity will suffer if executive decisions are made strictly for these reasons, alone. Choosing to play or not play certain players is an internal decision that franchises have the right to make on their own. A commissioner should not overstep his bounds and implement sanctions against organizations who are not breaking any rules, but simply making internal decisions. For the sake of the NBA, let’s hope this is a one-time occurrence.

Benjamin Haynes, Esq. contributed to this article. Haynes is a former Division 1 Basketball Player at Oral Roberts University and currently practices law in the State of Florida. Follow him at @BHaynes32.

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